Partners BBC Media Action

What we do

BBC Media Action’s PRIDE project (A Pathway to Respect, Identity, Dignity and Empowerment) will implement social and behaviour change communication interventions to reach and engage both waste-pickers and the general public. The overall goal of this intervention is to build greater social acceptance of waste pickers in Bengaluru.

The project plans to achieve this by addressing two main aspects: first, the general public in Bengaluru have a greater understanding of and empathy for waste picker families and the role they play in supporting a cleaner environment. This goal will be achieved through a multi-phased, multi-platform social media campaign linked with an on-ground activation.

The second aspect of the project is that waste pickers and their families perceive their own work as important, socially, and economically. This will be addressed through communications content disseminated through the on-ground channels including Saamuhika Shakti partners.

How we do it

A Theory of Change (ToC): BBC Media Action's approach to programme development and delivery is driven by evidence and experience. We draw from diverse fields like psychology, behavioural science, communication and social network analysis to craft a Theory of Change - the roadmap for impactful interventions. These roadmaps are informed by research and consider not just individuals but also overlapping social, personal, and structural factors that influence behaviour, as change unfolds within interconnected communities, not in isolated silos, making our programme strategies holistic and effective.

To design our intervention, we relied on theories of Professor Judith Butler around social exclusion and invisibility of certain lives in the society. It focused on addressing the invisibility of waste pickers, their lives and work to be properly valued.

Human centered design (HCD) approach to effective SBCC: Although it can be very tempting to give people information and believe that they will act on it once they know something or are aware of it, evidence shows that many other determinants of behaviour need to be understood and addressed before any shifts in behaviour can be expected. HCD approach helps in creating compelling evidence-based, insight-driven, impact-oriented storytelling.

Using these principles, our intervention in Saamuhika Shakti works towards building respect and recognition for the waste pickers and waste picking by:

Revealing who waste pickers are, putting a spotlight on their lives, skills, and expertise
Establishing interconnectedness between the lives of waste pickers and the city dwellers, highlighting how the city and its people benefit by waste pickers
Building empathy for waste pickers by highlighting their critical role in the circular economy, and;
Reframing how people of Bengaluru see the work of waste pickers

The #Invaluables initiative

#Invaluables is an idea created to reframe the work of waste pickers, from being seen as dirty to be seen as someone who handles the waste of the city, from being seen as sub-human to be seen as people like everyone else, from being seen as vagabonds to be seen as skilled and productive – from being invisible, to be seen as invaluable.

To deliver our work, we:

Use innovative storytelling approaches to create content
Collaborate with mainstream and environmental influencers and media to engage the general public
Partner with schools, colleges and business parks to engage with young people
Collaborate with our partners in the Saamuhika Shakti collective to reach and engage waste pickers community and their families

Waste pickers as friends Bengaluru never knew they had: The first phase of #Invaluables aimed to lift the shroud of invisibility and make the contribution of waste pickers more visible to the citizens of Bengaluru. Central to this phase was a social experiment film probing the notion of friendship while revealing ‘Invaluable’ friends of the people of Bengaluru: friends they never knew they had, who have always stood by them.

#Invaluables social experiment film

Celebrating the contributions of #InvaluableRecyclers: The second phase focused on highlighting the environmental impact of waste pickers of Bengaluru who collect, and are responsible for stopping almost 38,32,50,00,00 kilograms of waste from reaching landfills every year – the second phase of the communication was centered around Happy Number music video, to celebrate the contribution of waste pickers to the city of Bengaluru. To cultivate a feeling of dignity, respect, and professional pride among waste pickers, Happy Number was also circulated among waste pickers through digital and offline channels, in collaboration with Saamuhika Shakti partners.

Bringing #Invaluables offline and launch of Instagram brand: By bringing a Landfill Art Installation to in business parks and colleges, and a series of fire-side chats, called ‘Coffee with Recyclers’ featuring a popular actor and waste pickers, skills and expertise of waste pickers in a circular economy were brought forth in the third phase of #Invaluables. A series of content by leading mainstream influencers to highlight the skills and expertise of waste pickers while calling upon citizens to help #InvaluableRecyclers recycle more. @Invaluables.Bengaluru, an always on Instagram brand was launched to continue the momentum created from the campaign beyond a phase-wise approach and to reach audiences more frequently.

Coffee with Recyclers on YouTube: In the next phase, a four-part YouTube series was created to reach a vernacular audience. Each episode of Coffee with Recyclers delved into the lives of waste pickers, their families, work, skills and expertise they bring to the profession of waste management as recyclers. To cultivate a feeling of dignity, respect, and professional pride among waste pickers, episodes of Coffee with Recyclers were shown to waste pickers through digital and offline channels, in collaboration with Saamuhika Shakti partners.

Results

On digital platforms, #Invaluables has reached 10.6 million social media users in Bengaluru, generating 56 million impressions, earning 25 million video views and an engagement rate of 35%.
On mainstream and vernacular media, 86 stories about the #Invaluables initiative and Saamuhika Shakti have been published.
On private FM stations, six radio interviews with key spokespersons for #Invaluables, with an airtime of 54 mins.
4,150 waste pickers and their families in Bengaluru reached through digital and offline channels in collaboration with Saamuhika Shakti partners.

BBC Media Action

Our role in Saamuhika Shakti

What we do

How we do it

The #Invaluables initiative

Results

Impact so far

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